The Final Countdown

Last week we reached the milestone of 35 weeks, meaning that we can have a normal delivery without any NICU.  It was quite exciting and Doug came home with some gorgeous dahlias from a roadside stand in honor of reaching the marker.  I also had a great doctor's appointment and it seems like little Annie is very happy to stay put for now.  Phew!  It is a very strange feeling to know that I could go into labor anytime now.  I'm not nervous about it but I am getting very anxious to meet her.  I've had two dreams where we had her and she was super healthy and had really strong teeth even though she was so little.  What does that mean???  Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks - one more week of development closer!

I'm definitely starting to feel the weight of this little girl.  I'm now sleeping with four strategically located pillows and that has been a great help.  Teaching is still going well although my patience for the 7th graders is not very high right now.  I'm not crabby with them but I'm having a hard time coming up with any empathy for some of my immature or disorganized students. I do have most of my ducks in a row as far as my responsibilities while I'm gone so that is a really reassuring feeling.  I don't want to have to think about work once I'm off. 

We've been busy washing super cute tiny little socks, onesies and pjs.  It's pretty fun to imagine that tiny little feet and a tiny little body will fit into those little things.  Friends and family have been very generous with hand me downs and also gifts that we'll be needing.  The nursery is still coming along and Doug is getting a little frustrated with the pace but he's doing an amazing job.  He started to install insulation this weekend and we have a light switch that works at the bottom of the stairs now.  Some big steps for sure : )

Slow Down, You're Moving Too Fast

We have reached the 33rd week, seven more until the actual due date.  I'm definitely getting larger all the time.

We had a little scare this weekend with some preterm contractions.  Luckily, they turned out not to be labor inducing but we still had to spend the night in the hospital to be monitored and make sure everything is going okay.  For now, all appears to be fine and my uterus just wants to contract away.  I have to be on bed rest for a few days but we will do whatever we need to do to keep her in there a little longer.  I have an appointment on Friday and hopefully nothing will have changed and then I can return to work next week and plan some easy days for myself.   We will prevent her escape as long as we can.  Bed rest hasn't been so bad, I actually had quite a bit of grading to do and it's good to get some planning done in case I can't go back to work anytime soon.  I also watched the first season of Downton Abbey and am now totally hooked.  I'm just debating whether or not I want to start buying episodes from Season 2 on Amazon...I also got my baby registry squared away so that's good.

The room is coming along upstairs.  Poor Doug was planning on working hard on it all weekend until our hospital trip.  He stayed very calm the whole time and has been very helpful this week.  A couple of weeks ago, he put in two skylights all by himself.  They really add a lot of light to the room and open it up a bit.  On Sunday, his brother-in-law came over to help with some electricals.  The next step will be insulation and then I think it will be ready for hanging sheet rock and finishing stuff after that.  It may not be done by the time this girl gets here but that's okay.  Keep cooking, Annie!